One of the prettiest games of chess ever played. And writer Irving Chernev's favorite game.
The ratings are from statistician Jeff Sonas's website.
1.d4
f5; (K-side play.)
The Dutch Defense.
2.c4
Nf6; 3.g3
e6; 4.Bg2
Bb4+!?; (hmmm) {D?}
This is OK, but theory avoid this
move today, as Black's game is
a little sterile.
[ Maybe better was: 4...Be7!?; when Black has a fair game. ]
5.Bd2
Bxd2+; 6.Nxd2!?, {D?}
After this seemingly innocent move,
White's Knights steps on each others
toes for the rest of the game.
[ Best is 6.Qxd2!, "+/=" - GM A. Alekhine. ]
6...Nc6; 7.Ngf3
0-0; 8.0-0
d6; 9.Qb3
Kh8; 10.Qc3!?
e5!;
Based on a tactic, Black grabs
his fair share of the center.
11.e3!?, (protection) Guarding the center.
[ White cannot win a Pawn on e5,
due to the hanging WN on d2:
11.dxe5!?
dxe5
; 12.Nxe5??
Nxe5
;
13.Qxe5
Qxd2; "-/+"
and Black has won a piece. ]
11...a5!; (prophylaxis)
Black forestalls any Q-side play
by White. (Stops b4.)
12.b3
Qe8!; 13.a3
Qh5!;
Black takes advantage of White's
somewhat inaccurate play to begin
a forceful demonstration on the K-side.
14.h4!?, (Maybe - '?!')
Black will later regret this
weakening of his K-side.
14...Ng4; 15.Ng5
Bd7; {D?}
Black has played the opening perfectly.
White's next is a little risky. ('?!')
[I.e., White's idea is to kick the
BN Knight off g4, but this
results in a fairly substantial
weakening of the King safety
of the White King, owing to the
(now) porous nature of the
pawn cover surrounding Bogo's
most important piece.]
16.f3!?
Nf6; 17.f4!?
e4;
White's K-side is totally bottled up.
White's strategy - for this game - seems to be to try and completely close the position, perhaps hoping that he can restrain Alekhine's flair for tactics ...
18.Rfd1
h6; 19.Nh3
d5!; 20.Nf1
Ne7; 21.a4
Nc6!; 22.Rd2
Nb4; 23.Bh1
Qe8!; (Maybe - '!!')
A truly great move. Black abandons
his seemingly promising game on
one side of the board, to go for an
unknown type of game on the Q-side.
24.Rg2
dxc4; 25.bxc4
Bxa4; 26.Nf2
Bd7; 27.Nd2
b5!; {D?}
Blowing open lines on the Q-side.
28.Nd1
Nd3!; (Outpost ... and '?')
Black begins a magnificent combination...
one of the greatest in the annals of chess.
29.Rxa5!?
b4!
; (hits c3 ...)
Black's last move attacks the WQ,
thus cutting down on the first player's
range of options.
Now the stage is set for one of the most fantastic combinations ever seen ... in any chess game ... ever!
30.Rxa8, (Possibly an error?)
This move - by virtue of deep
analysis - turns out to be rather
inaccurate, although I admit
it appears to be perfectly
OK to me.
[ Possibly better was: (>/=) 30.Qa1, - Fritz 13 ]
30...bxc3!!; (Maybe - '!!!')
Perhaps one of the greatest combinations
and one of the most original concepts in
any combination that was ever conceived
over the board in a game of chess.
[ December, 2012: Both Houdini 1.5 and Fritz 13
win in a more pedestrian
manner with the following
rather pedantic line:
RR30...Qxa8;
31.Qb3
Qa1; 32.Nf1
Ra8; "-/+"
and Black wins simply because
of the totally un-coordinated
nature of
all of White's army.
(Black threatens ...Qc1; to be
followed by ...Ra1, which will
win material.) ]
31.Rxe8
c2!!; (Maybe - '!!!')
One of the most brilliant and
amazing chess moves of that ...
or any other century.
[ White probably expected something
like this continuation:
RR
31...Rxe8; 32.Nxc3;
"~"
when the first player probably
has a playable position. ]
32.Rxf8+
Kh7; 33.Nf2
c1Q+;
Black's second Queen in this game.
34.Nf1
Ne1!; (Threatens N-attack.)
Threatens mate in 1.
(Smothered mate!)
The next series of moves are good,
although the box prefers 35...Nc2.
35.Rh2
Qxc4; 36.Rb8
Bb5; 37.Rxb5
Qxb5; 38.g4
Nf3+!;
This move leaves a pawn on f3
that could turn into a target, but
Alekhine is unafraid.
(Alekhine also sacrifices
a couple of pawns.)
39.Bxf3
exf3; 40.gxf5
Qe2!; (Maybe - '!!')
Black ties White up.
(White is reduced to cinders
by the force of Zugzwang.)
White is sooo tied up here ...
(Bogo is virtually in a state
called Zugzwang, White has
few moves that do not
instantly lose the game.)
41.d5
Kg8!; 42.h5
Kh7; 43.e4
Nxe4; 44.Nxe4
Qxe4; 45.d6
cxd6; 46.f6
gxf6; 47.Rd2
Qe2!; (What number?)
Another Queen sacrifice.
(White sees no choice but to
accept ...)
[Fritz likes 47...QxP/f4; here.]
48.Rxe2
fxe2; 49.Kf2
exf1Q+;
This is Black's 3rd Queen in
this fantastic game.
50.Kxf1 Kg7; 51.Ke2 Kf7; 52.Ke3 Ke6; 53.Ke4 d5+; White Resigns. 0 - 1.
(Maybe he does not want to see Black's FOURTH [4th] Queen in this game.)
A magnificent game where Black played with unparalleled brilliance ... on both sides of the board!
(Alekhine himself considers this perhaps the finest game that he ever played.)
Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby, 2001. All rights reserved. (Updated in December, 2012.)
0 - 1